18 November,2018 04:10 PM IST | Mumbai | Sanjeev Shivadekar
MNS workers distributing mid-day copies to commuters at Borivli
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has thrown an open challenge to Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited (AEML) to prove that electricity bills have been hiked by 0.2 per cent, and not 10 to 15 per cent as claimed by citizens and the party. The party has given the power company a 10-day ultimatum to address the public's grievance of inflated electricity bills, or else, face their wrath.
On Saturday, a delegation of MNS leaders along with the AEML authorities held a discussion to address complaints from citizens on the sudden rise in power bills. Senior party members Avinash Abhyankar and Nayan Kadam tabled several electricity bills before the AEML officials to substantiate their claim that bills recently received by citizens are higher by 20 to 40 per cent in comparison to the earlier service provider.
"AEML authorities should justify that rise in bill is merely 0.2 per cent as approved by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) and not 10 to 25 per cent rise as many consumers are claiming," Abhyankar said, adding that the figures in the before and after flow chart (see box) substantiated their claim.
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On Saturday, mid-day had reported that consumers had complained about soaring bills after AEML took over the electricity distribution from the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure.
In fact, copies of mid-day were distributed at Borivli station to commuters. MNS workers were seen exhorting commuters to join the agitation, if they too felt cheated. An AEML spokesperson said, "The meeting with public representatives was constructive. We explained the regulatory process of tariff determination. We are committed to working towards improving consumer experience. We have a 24x7 customer support for redressal of any complaint."
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